Door sealing mechanism for interchange compartment in glove boxes



y 7, 1968 J. H. BROWN 3,381,414

DOOR SEALING MECHANISM FOR INTERCHANGE COMPARTMENT IN GLOVE BOXES Filed May 27, 1966 INVENTOR (/0/7/7 hf Brow/7 United States Patent 3,381,414 DOOR SEAUNG MECHANISM FOR INTER- CHANGE COlliPARTMENT IN GLOVE BOXES John H. Brown, 11206 Monroe Court, Kansas City, Mo. 64100 Filed May 27, 1966, Ser. No. 581,401 9 Claims. (Cl. 49-281) This invention relates to a closure assembly for a door or window panel on laboratory equipment and has as its primary object the provision of novel structure for swinging the panel clear of its corresponding opening in a manner suitable for operation within a confined area.

The present invention is particularly adapted to be utilized as the inner door assembly for an interchange compartment of a glove box wherein the handling of equipment and chemicals is performed in an enclosed space of relatively limited size. Heretofore, in conventional interchange compartments, the door has swung inwardly so that it was necessary for the operator to move materials to one side and sacrifice valuable working space within the glove box. By using the assembly described herein, the door swings parallel to itsopening and thereby consumes no substantial operating space, thus efiiciently utilizing the working area of the glove box.

An important object of my invention is to provide a closure assembly of the aforementioned character which includes, in combination therewith, means for effectively sealing the opening to maintain desired atmospheric conditions within the glove box and interchange compartment.

In the drawing:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of a glove box having an interchange compartment, the latter utilizing my novel closure assembly;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged, side elevational view of the interchange compartment and closure assembly therefor, showing the inner side thereof;

FIG. 3 is a front elevational view thereof;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged, cross-sectional view taken along line 4-4 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged, cross-sectional view taken along line 5-5 of FIG. 2; and

FIG. 6 is an enlarged, cross-sectional view taken along line 66 of FIG. 2.

The closure assembly of the present invention is particularly adapted for use with the interchange compartment 10 of a glove box 12. Glove box 12 is an enclosed structure and includes a viewing window 14 and a pair of glove ports 16, each of the latter being adapted to sup port a glove 18 which is manually manipulated within box 12 by the hand of an operator.

One side of glove box 12 has a removable wall section 20 swingably mounted thereon by hinge means 22 and normally locked into place by a plurality of latches 24. Wall 26 has an opening 26 (FIG. 4) formed therein which communicates with one end of interchange compartment 10, the latter being defined by a top Wall 28, a bottom wall 36, and sidewalls 32 which are integrally secured to wall 26 adjacent opening 26. The end of interchange compartment 10 remote from wall 20 is provided with an end wall 34 having a central opening formed therein (not shown).

The openings formed in walls 20 and 34 are normally covered by an inner door panel 36 and an outer door panel 38, respectively, and each door panel is part of a closure assembly made pursuant to the teachings of the present invention. Since the closure assemblies for walls 20 and 34 are substantially identical, only the closure assembly for wall 20 will be set forth in detail hereinafter.

Referring to FIGS. 2-4 wherein wall 20 is shown re- "ice moved from glove box 12 for illustrative purposes, it will be noted that a flexible gasket 40 having a circular, transverse cross section is embedded in the inner surface 42 of wall section 20 and completely surrounds opening 26. One-half of gasket 40 projects outwardly from surface 42 whereby a semicircular, raised surface is presented.

Door panel 36 has an inner face 44 and an outer face 46 and is preferably constructed of a material which can withstand sequential application and release of pressure. Inner face 44 has a fiat, marginal edge 48 normally aligned with gasket 40 and engaging the latter in closing relationship to opening 26, there being a generally domeshaped, central section 50 bowing outwardly from marginal edge 48.

An elongated arm 52 extends across outer face 46 of panel 36 and the latter is shiftably mounted on arm 52 by a stud assembly for movement toward and away from surface 42. The assembly comprises a pair of spaced studs 54 rigidly secured by screws 55 to panel 36 and extending through arm 52 for free sliding movement therethrough. Each stud S4 terminates in a cap 56 and telescopically receives a coil spring 58 which is disposed between arm 52 and a respective cap 56 to serve as means for normally biasing panel 36 toward arm 52.

Arm 52 is mounted on wall 20 by apparatus including pivot means in the form of a pintle 60 (FIG. 5) interconnecting wall section 20 and arm 52 at a point above opening 26. Pintle 66 supports arm 52 for swinging movement of panel 36 and arm 52 in corresponding planes substantially parallel with surface 42. The mounting apparatus for arm 52 also includes latch means comprising a hook 62 formed in the normally lowermost end of arm 52 and a post 64 extending laterally from wall section 20 at a point below panel 36. Post 64 terminates in a stop 66 with hook 62 normally engaging post 64 adjacent stop 66 for interlocking of the latch parts. Thus, panel 36 is disposed between the pivot means and latch means of arm 52, and studs 54 are located on arm 52 at positions intermediate pintle 6t) and hook 62.

Releasable mechanism for shifting panel 36 is mounted on arm 52 adjacent the middle portion of center section 50 of panel 36. The shifting mechanism includes a fastener 68 threadably journalled through arm 52 and terminating in a head 70 which engages outer face 46 of panel 36. A knurled knob 72 is secured to the end of fastener 68 remote from head 76, there being a lock screw 74 extending through knob 72 and bearing on fastener 68 to preclude relative rotational movement therebetween. With reference to FIG. 4, a recess 76 is formed in arm 52 for receiving head 70 as the latter is shifted away from opening 26 in response to rotation of knob 72.

Inner panel 36 is provided with manually manipulatable structure coupled with arm 52 for swinging the latter to open panel 36. This structure includes a depending bar 78 pivotally secured to the normally uppermost end of arm by a pivot bolt 86. Bar 78 has a notch 82 formed intermediate the ends thereof facing panel 36, which notch 82 is adapted for releasably locking with a pin element 84 which extends laterally from wall 20 at a point below pintle 69. A handle 86 extends laterally from the lowermost end of bar '78.

In operation, assuming that wall 20 is latched to glove box 12, panel 36 is normally in the sealed position shown in FIG. 4, wherein marginal edge 48 of panel 36 is pressed tightly against gasket 46. Should the operator desire to open door panel 36 for transfer of an article between interchange compartment 10 and glove box 12, it is first necessary to reach through the right glove 18 and rotate knob 72 to shift head 70 away from opening 26. Panel 36 will slide on studs 54 and shift with head 70 in response to the action of coil springs 58 which tend to pull panel 36 toward arm 52. After head '70 has shifted a sufiicient distance, panel 36 is released from gasket 40, whereupon handle 86 may be grasped by the operator and pulled downwardly to swing panel 36 and arm 52 clockwise about pintle 60 and parallel with surface 42 to the dashed-line position shown in FIG. 2. When bar '73 is in the dashedline position, notch 82 will releasably lock with pin 34 to hold panel 36 open and thereby permit the operator to release handle 86 and transfer articles between interchange compartment 10 and glove box 12.

When the operator desires to reclose panel 36, bar 78 is shifted rearwardly to release notch 82 from pin 84, and panel 36 is permitted to gravitate downwardly while swinging counterclockwise to the full-line position of FIG. 2 whereupon hook 62 engages post 64 adjacent stop 66. Knob 72 is then rotated by the operator to reshift panel 36 toward gasket 40, it being noted that as head 70 of fastener 68 is tightened against the middle portion of center section 50 of panel 36, arm 52 will tend to shift outwardly but will be limited in travel as hook 62 engages stop 56, whereby continued shifting of panel 36 will cause compression of gasket 50 by marginal edge 43 and thereby effect sealing of opening 26.

It is noteworthy that as panel 36 is tightened against gasket 40, the shifting force of head 70 is imported radially from marginal edge 43 of the bowed panel 36 to gasket 49 whereby a highly effective seal is formed. Also, a panel having a bowed configuration is preferable for withstanding sequential application and release of pressure without cracking over a prolonged period of use.

The travel of knob '72 is limited as it eventually engages arm 52. This limited travel provision prevents the application of excess pressure to panel 36 which could tend to weaken the same.

Thus, I have provided a unique closure assembly wherein a panel may be opened and closed without swinging inwardly to consume valuable space within an enclosure such as glove box 12. Additionally, the panel swinging and sealing operations are easily performed by the operator while working within glove box 12, and suitable holding means for the panel is provided to permit the operator to release the swinging structure to transfer articles.

It will be understood that the swinging and shifting of outer panel 38 is substantially identical to that described above with respect to inner panel 36, except that handle 86 and its associated structure are not provided for swinging panel 36 inasmuch as the operator can easily grasp the arm or knob of the outer panel to swing the same.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new and desired to be secured by Letters Patent is:

1. A closure assembly comprising:

a wall having an opening;

a panel having an inner and outer face, said inner face having a marginal edge normally engaging the wall at one surface thereof in closing relationship to the opening;

an elongated arm across the said outer face;

an assembly shiftably mounting the panel on the arm for movement toward and away from said surface;

apparatus mounting the arm on said Wall;

said apparatus including pivot means supporting the arm for swinging movement of the panel and the arm in corresponding planes substantially parallel with said surface and releasable latch means having interlocking parts on the arm and on the wall respectively;

the panel being between the pivot means and the latch means; and

releasable mechanism on the arm engageable with said outer face between the pivot means and the latch means for shifting the panel tightly against said surface when said parts are interlocked.

2. The invention of claim 1, and means carried by the a panel and engaging the arm for shifting the panel away from said surface upon release of said mechanism.

3. The invention of claim 2, said assembly including a pair of spaced studs rigidly secured to said panel and extending through said arm for free sliding movement therethrough, each stud terminating in a cap, said means comprising a coil spring around each stud disposed between said arm and a respective cap.

4. The invention of claim 2, said releasable mechanism including a fastener thre-adably journalled through said arm and terminating in a head engaging said outer face. and a manually manipulatablc knob secured to the fas" tener for rotating the latter to effect shifting of said panel.

5. The invention of claim 1, and manually manipulatable structure coupled with the arm for swinging the latter to open the panel upon release of said mechanism and said latch means.

6. The invention of claim 5, and releasable lock means having elements on said wall and on said structure for holding the panel open.

7. The invention of claim 1, and a flexible gasket mounted on said one surface of the wall and projecting outwardly therefrom, said gasket completely surrounding said opening and being in alignment with said marginal edge of the panel whereby the latter is shifted against the gasket for sealing the opening.

8. The invention of claim 7, said panel being bowedtoward said arm for engagement with said mechanism whereby, when said panel is shifted tightly against said gasket by the mechanism, the imparted forces will be directed radially from the panel to the gasket.

9. The invention of claim ll, said interlocking parts comprising a hook on said arm and a post extending laterally from said wall, said post terminating in a stop, said hook engaging the post adjacent the stop for interlocking of the parts.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,035,315 5/1962 Saunders 49-276 X DAVID J. WILLIAMOWSKY, Primary Examiner.

J. K. BELL, Assistant Examiner. 

1. A CLOSURE ASSEMBLY COMPRISING: A WALL HAVING AN OPENING; A PANEL HAVING AN INNER AND OUTER FACE, SAID INNER FACE HAVING A MARGINAL EDGE NORMALLY ENGAGING THE WALL AT ONE SURFACE THEREOF IN CLOSING RELATIONSHIP TO THE OPENING; AN ELONGATED ARM ACROSS THE SAID OUTER FACE; AN ASSEMBLY SHIFTABLY MOUNTING THE PANEL ON THE ARM FOR MOVEMENT TOWARD AND AWAY FROM SAID SURFACE; APPARATUS MOUNTING THE ARM ON SAID WALL: SAID APPARATUS INCLUDING PIVOT MEANS SUPPORTING THE ARM FOR SWINGING MOVEMENT OF THE PANEL AND THE ARM IN CORRESPONDING PLANES SUBSTANTIALLY PARALLEL WITH SAID SURFACE AND RELEASABLE LATCH MEANS HAVING INTERLOCKING PARTS ON THE ARM AND ON THE WALL RESPECTIVELY; THE PANEL BEING BETWEEN THE PIVOT MEANS AND THE LATCH MEANS; AND RELEASABLE MECHANISM ON THE ARM ENGAGEABLE WITH SAID OUTER FACE BETWEEN THE PIVOT MEANS AND THE LATCH MEANS FOR SHIFTING THE PANEL TIGHTLY AGAINST SAID SURFACE WHEN SAID PARTS ARE INTERLOCKED. 